Posted on 12/24/2005 9:57:16 AM PST by abb
Please, next time you post a story from WSJ.com, remember, not all of us subscribe to it.
The product's fine. Unless you think soaring DVD rentals are of films not made by Hollywood. Its the cost and hassle of the theater "experiecne" that turn people off.
I am amazed at how oblivious some businesses are to the Laffer curve. Arcade machines can be the same way--I know that I'd play the combo Galaga/Ms. Pacman machines a lot more if they were $0.25 instead of $0.50, and I don't think I'm alone. On the other hand, maybe the problem is that if movie prices were $4.50 instead of $9.00, people who'd be inclined to go once a week instead of once a month would run out of pictures to see.
Yep. My wife and I went to see 'Walk the Line' last night (good movie, BTW, obviously an exception rather than the rule lately), and it cost us $16 for two adult tickets, and $18.50 for popcorn, 2 medium drinks, an order of nachos, and a hotdog. We can't afford to splurge like that too often, especially on really poor quality movies (which we avoid like the plague). So hopefully the law of supply and demand will kick in sooner rather than later!
I'd like to see more rereleases. Instead of doing a remake to get people to watch a story again, rerelease the original. Hollywood doesn't do rereleases very much, but a lot of the rereleases it has done (Star Wars, Wizard of Oz, etc.) have done quite well. Of course, maybe that's part of the problem--Hollywood would be too embarassed if movies from the 1930's to 1960's did too much better than current ones.
I'm about to write off one theatre here for the use of something called "The 20"(?) -- pre-show "entertainment" that is anything but entertaining.
INDEED. I haven't paid to see a movie in a theatre since "The Blair Witch Project", and THAT was 5 years ago.
Until the industry officials can face reality, things for them won't change. Here's a few things that screw up the theater experience:
Movies today don't have plots, they have themes. We get movies like "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Monster-in-Law," where one knows exactly what they are going to be about just from the title. Why even watch them?
Movies are made for demographics. This one is for the "action movie" crowd or this one is for the "chick movie" crowd. The story line is secondary, if there even is one. Each movie within a certain classification follows basically the same formula or template. For example, if it is an action movie, one knows that there will be at least one car going airborne.
Hollywood has completely lost the ability to tell an interesting story or to be original. If they were to remake the movie "North by Northwest" today, Thornhill would be played by Denzel Washington. There would be a car chase which would include a huge truck blasting through a roadblock and a police car going airborne. The villains would be international wealthy nazis. The UN Building and Mt. Rushmore would be blown up. The movie would end with the villains' plane being blown up with a huge explosion which would be shown in slow motion from different angles. Thornhill would extract the girl from the plane at the last minute somehow with a fighter jet.
Everything is predictable today.
Thank you -- and Merry Christmas!
No kidding. They've run out of ideas, so they're remaking everything (sometimes repeatedly, like Freaky Friday, which has been re-done twice now). I don't do remakes. Is it any wonder that all the movies I watch are 30 years old?
I rarely watch a movie in the theater, but if I do, it's the matinee several weeks after opening, and skip the concessions. That way it's only $5.50, and no crowds to fight. Some are just better seen on a really big screen. "The Edge" with Anthony Hopkins comes to mind. It made the mad grizzly bear look like he was 15ft tall and 5000 lbs. :)
I would be interested to see how well The Godfather would do if it went back into wide release today. I know I would be first in line. I think it would have to be limited to color movies that could really challenge today's movies. A lot of people I know have something against B&W.
For your edification:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1111944/posts
"This year seemed to be the remakes of the remakes of the remakes."
I think it's Fun with Dick and Jane this week.
I like action movies. What was the last good one? The Bourne Identity?
I'll go back to the theater when there is a movie worth seeing.
There are some good things about lots of trailers. The last time I went to the movies I was running about 15 minutes late. I was still able to watch the last trailer and not miss any of the movie.
Note that the "stars" of this wanabee blockbuster remake #21(or whatever the number) are a bunch of third raters. Guess 99.9% of the $300 million production cost went for special effects and hype.
A matinee the monday after the opening weekend is just as good. Almost nobody there for a 1pm show. I am self employed and work from home, so for movies that galpal doesn't want to see, I fly solo like that.
One exception will be King Kong - I am home in nyc for the holidays and we saw Narnia yesterday eve together, I got her on her way to PA to see her family, and I will be with my family this week. I'll go see King Kong tomorrow solo in Times Square - that will fill up 1pm-4pm or so, and get hme home just in time for the big holiday dinner! :-)
I like trailers, but about 8 minutes worth is enough, and no slick pepsi ads for me. 20+ minutes of commercials is hideous.
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